Grand Deducer Watson of Sherlock. NoName, no pack drill. Astral zone changed five times a day (flexible). Great at manifesting parking spaces by thought control. Hatred of terminology of survivors and commitment to win-win reality.

The author hates that adaption. He is fascinated about the technical parts (esp. the boats and the bunker pens) but says that the acting had not much to to with the reality.
The original plan was a totally US-ified version with Robert Redford as commander of the sub and with every possible cliche in it.
Buchheim says that sometimes he wishes that this version had been made because nobody sane outside the US would have taken it seriously but now this film is taken for a completely accurate description of the real thing.
I hear the English dub removed a lot of spoken obscenities.
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The Cruel Sea was very well made in my opinion. The movie left out some of the nastier parts of the book but without compromising the whole.

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Complete agreement on Goodbye Mr. Chips. I was originally interested in it because of the Addinsell score and John Mills (not yet Sir) playing a part. It may be pure nostalgia but it brings tears even to this cynic's eyes.

The Das Boot mini series was on BBC2 here in the 80s (German with subtitles). Did read the book at the time and can't remember it jarring with the series in any way, perhaps I should re-read it.

If nothing else it corrects the older view of the U-Boat service (as portrayed in the British wartime propaganda newsreels) as evil pirates who could slaughter the civilians of the unarmed merchant navy at no risk to themselves (true at the start, but very untrue later of course).

A few people are probably going to laugh and/or roll their eyes, but the only one of my favorites that no one has mentioned here yet is Jurassic Park. Just the first one, though. They totally botched the second, and there wasn't even a third book.

No one's gonna save us now, not even God!
No one saved us, no one's gonna save us.

beagle wrote:If nothing else it corrects the older view of the U-Boat service (as portrayed in the British wartime propaganda newsreels) as evil pirates who could slaughter the civilians of the unarmed merchant navy at no risk to themselves (true at the start, but very untrue later of course).

Interestingly the British war movies made at the time painted a far more balanced picture (and I have seen a lot). I would even say that in some cases the German opponents are actually portrayed too neutral (though not as very bright usually).
The 49th Parallel is an exception (even more so for Powell and Pressburger) but was obviously aimed at the USA (better let's not talk about their war movies/documentaries).
To put it this way: I rarely feel insulted as a German (and a person owning a brain) by British war movies but quite often by American (and German for that matter) ones.

Swatopluk wrote:The only problem was the crappy stock footage they had to use.

Yes the planes were poor. Apparently, when the US military discovered what "Fail-Safe" was about, they refused to co-operate in any way. Lumet had to make the same stock clip look like several bombers. The film's one low point.

It didn't matter in the end; Fail-Safe was driven by the acting, not visual effects.